The Unholy Marriage of Corn Growers and Football

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We're getting pretty amped around here for the start of the college-football season. All those wing recipes, the dips, the craft beers, and, of course, the age-old rivalries playing out in stadiums across America. Over in Iowa, the land of butter cows and meat lollipops, the University of Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa State Cyclones are readying for their own annual showdown to win possession of the coveted Cy-Hawk Trophy. Since the only thing bigger than college football in Iowa is corn, it makes sense that the Iowa State Corn Growers' Association has stepped up to sponsor this year's intra-Iowa series.

About that trophy. Well, the corn people thought the one they've been using (pictured < target="_blank">here) was too old-fashioned and boring — and, apparently, too slavishly literal about the whole football connection. It was time to gussy things up. Imagine the silence hanging in the air when this monstrosity, pictured above, was unveiled at the Iowa State Fair. Yeah, just to be clear, that diorama of corn propaganda, or something you once saw at a Hallmark store, is meant to commemorate a football game. The criticism was so overwhelming after the trophy was announced, reports ESPN, that the corn people are designing yet another one. Maybe something that incorporates both football and corn? Just a thought. [via Eater]